Oklahoma City Civic Center
DINE OKC
Credit: Oklahoma City Convention and Visitors Bureau
Ask a cowhand for dining advice, and they’ll send you straight
to Cattlemen’s Steakhouse in Stockyards City. It’s an OKC
touchstone within hollering distance of the Oklahoma
National Stock Yards, where twice-weekly cattle auctions
draw tourists alongside the chaps-and-boots crowd. That
means dining on ultra-fresh, corn-fed beef at a restaurant
known for grilling hand-cut steaks to perfection — and
portions that leave greenhorns reeling. Make a liquid dessert
of the city’s hippest beers, starting with a Rose Rock Irish red
ale from Twisted Spike Brewing Company, whose taproom is
lined with local art and exposed brick. The next stop should
be the patio at Stonecloud Brewing Company, which turns
into an open-air, hop-fueled social hub on summer nights.
EXPLORE OKC
Larger-than-life exhibits at the National Cowboy &
Western Heritage Museum turn Oklahoma history vivid,
including Native American artwork, oiled gunstocks, and
the thundering hooves of bison herds. When the landmark
museum was founded in 1955, Oklahoma had been a state
for less than half a century, and the beauty, drama, and
tragedies of Western life are treated with reverence here.
If you like your history with a side of twang, continue to the
American Banjo Museum to see the world’s largest public
banjo collection. Peer even deeper into spacetime at the kid-
friendly Science Museum Oklahoma; there, the Kirkpatrick
Planetarium has a brand-new star projector to bring the
galaxy within spectacular reach.
SLEEP OKC
The heavy Conestoga covered wagons that hauled pioneers
across the plains go chic at Orr Family Farm, whose wagons
are circled for nostalgic evenings under a stretched-canvas
canopy. The brand new glamping wagons feature king-
sized beds, private bathrooms, and fire rings for toasting
marshmallows under the stars.
For an entirely different take on Oklahoma City nights, book
a room at 21c Museum Hotel, where you’ll sleep surrounded
by contemporary art. It’s housed in a 1916 Model T production
plant, and the hotel’s ultra-modern design nods to that history
with industrial touches. Soaking tubs, original artwork, and
big views of the OKC skyline combine for an urban luxury
experience. Instead of a campfire, guests gather around
cocktails at Mary Eddy’s OKC, a sleek hotel lounge built into
the former Model T showroom.
GETTING TO OKC
Nonstop flights run from Dulles International Airport (IAD)
to Will Rogers World Airport (OKC) on United Airlines, while
American Airlines and Southwest offer daily nonstop flights to
OKC from DCA. Flights take just over three hours each way.
FLYWASHINGTON.COM 44 AUTUMN 2019
Oklahoma National
Stock Yards
Credit: Oklahoma City Convention and Visitors Bureau